Showing posts with label Challenges. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Challenges. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

My 2015 reading


Hello everybody. Tis the season to do wrap-up posts, and so here we are, or rather here I am, taking a look of what I read this year. Turns out, it was a pretty good reading year, IMO. I thought I was going to read way less than I did, with the final experiments and the article, but no. As we are speaking I have finished 102 books and I am currently reading 3, with 2 ready for the long flight coming my way. So I think I will be looking at about 107 books FINISHED this year. I did have 5 DNFs, highest I’ve ever had, but hey, if a books is not doing it for you, move on, am I right? I also read 29 comics this year, the reason why I am not counting them together is simply that this is the first year I had actually read comics, so to compare with previous years, I decided to keep them separately. Now, let’s take a look of those stats. (*note: these numbers are based on the books I have finished to date, but except for the rating average, most of the stats will pretty much remained unchanged until the end of the year).

Of the books I read, 81% of my reading was Fiction. I did however attain my goal of reading at least one non-fiction book per month, so I am happy with that. The biggest chunk of my fiction reading was in (unsurprisingly) Science Fiction or Fantasy (21%), followed by General Fiction and Historical Fiction. In the case of non-fiction, General NonFic (8%) was the top contender, followed by Memoirs.

Regarding sex representation, 68% of the books I read had female authors and 61% had female main characters, and almost 40% of the books passed the Mako Mori Test, so that was good. Only about 10% of the books had LGBTQ characters sadly.

Most of my reading remained in paper print (58%), but compared to previous years, my audio books were more present than e-print. As long as ownership goes, I am very happy because 60% of my reading came from books I already owned (not that I stopped buying books, but still), followed by 32% from the library.

Language wise, English is still my most read language (84%) due to availability of most of the books. However, I am very happy because my Spanish reading more than double (12% this year compared to 5% last year) and that means I also accomplished my goal of reading at least on book in Spanish every month (I read a total of 13). As far as POC representation goes, 30% of my reading had a POC author with a similar value of POC main characters. This also means that I attained my goal of reading at least one POC author per month (31 books to be exact).

Of my other challenges, I read almost every book from the Sword and Laser book club, except for 2, since 1 I had already read before and the other one I was unable to find at the library or Audible. Sure I could’ve bought it but…well, I didn’t. I also read every book from the Hello Hemlock book club, and did read a Canadian author every month. I also checked this year how many books I was reading per month, just to see if I had months where I read more than others. The answer is: not significantly. This year I couldn’t participate in the fall Read-a-Thon, but even then, my average remained between 8 and 9 books per month.

I am very happy with my reading experience, since most of the books I read had a 4 mushroom rating (46%) and I did have a 28% of 5 mushrooms, which basically means, those surpassed expectations. 

Finally, the last thing I checked was the countries being represented on my reading, either by origin of the author or setting of the story. Every represented country has been colored in this map…see the problem there? Only one country in whole Africa! I am satisfied with Latin America, but even then, I know I can do better. So I am setting my goals for 2016. I will write a post about soon enough, but needless to say, I am going for better representation.

How was your reading year?

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Challenges and goals update: How did I do in October

October was a very good month reading wise. Blogging wise...not so much. I was mostly active on my other blog, but with a lot of things going on at the lab, I neglected this site once again. I have some news I would like to share: I got my Canadian residency! Both A and I are very happy that I won't need to be renewing visas and other permits for a long time. But anyway, let's talk books!

Diversifying 2015: Ironically enough, this month was the #Diversiverse month and I only read one book of a POC author: El amor es una droga dura (Love is a Hard drug by Uruguayan author Cristina Peri Rossi. It was quite good and very different from what I had been reading. I should do better next month.

Read Harder: For this challenge I tackled the "A book that someone else has recommended to you" part with Le vieux qui ne voulait pas fêter son anniversaire (The Old guy that didn't want to celebrate his birthday) by Jonas Jonasson. It was completely hilarious and I recommended it wholeheartedly. Also for "A Book published by and Indie press" I read The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison. I liked it but I had very high expectations for it, and it didn't fully attain them. It was interesting didn't really resonated with me. Finally as a "Retelling of a classic story" I read Fairest by Marissa Meyer.

My goals:


Read at least 1 POC author per month / Read at least 1 book in Spanish per month:: Only one this month:
El amor es una droga dura (Love is a Hard drug by Uruguayan author Cristina Peri Rossi.

Read CanLit book per month:For this goal I read Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood, a series of short stories. I absolutely loved it, particularly the first ones that get intertwined. I think there's no book of Atwood that wouldn't find delightful.

Read at least 1 book of nonfiction per month: As mentioned I read The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison.

Finished series:To get "ready" for the final book in The Lunar Chronicles, I finally read Fairest by Marissa Meyer, book 4 of the series. I am so enamored with this world! Seeing a bit of Levana's story surely puts a lot of things in perspective!

Read more already owned books: Off the 10 books I read this month 3 were my own, 1 was borroed and the other 6 came from the library.

Read the picks of the month for each book club: The Sword and Laser pick for this month was The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson.It definitely had an Ancillary Justice vibe, and who knew economics and politics could give you such a rush. While I am happy I got to know this story, I am not sure I love it. Very enjoyable and a great world building, but I was left with the sensation that something was amiss.

Besides the books I already mentioned I also read In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume. It was my first book by the author and I liked it. It was an audiobook, and the narrator (Kathleen McInerney) did a wonderful job. I will eventually give it a try to her YA novels. I also read Still Alice by Lisa Genova; this one got me crying in no time and then I decided to watch the movie, and oh boy, the waterworks!. I think the author does an outstanding job making the reader feel what Alice is going through. Also a first, I read Reality Boy by A.S. King and it got me thinking, why on Earth didn't I read her books before? Her characters are so well built and so complex and real! This might have been a first, but it's certainly not a last one. My last read of the month was Before she Dies by Mary Burton; a thriller, bit of noir novella, was enjoyable, and I never managed to foresee who the bad guy was, which is a good thing!I'm glad I chose it for my Readers Imbibing Peril X challenge.

Well that was it for October. How was your reading?

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Challenges and goals update: How did I do in September?

September turned out to be a better reading month that I expected, and once again I’m surprised since I’ve been almost living in the lab lately. At the same time, that means a lot of commuting time, so yeii for public transportation reading! So what exactly did I read in September? Well, I started 11 books, DNF only one of them and another one I am loving but to be fair I started it on the 28th, so I haven’t been able to finish it. So I’m going to do stats only on the 9 books finished. Let’s see:

Diversifying 2015: Of the 9 books I read this month, 2 had a POC author and both had POC main characters. This pushed my percentage to under 30%, but I’m still happy with it, I want it to be at least 30% by the end of the year. The books I read were: Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson and The Round House by Louise Erdrich. The book I DNF was Origins by Neil de Grasse Tyson, but it turned out to be way too much physics for me. My boyfriend read it and loved it though.

Read Harder: For this challenge I tackled the "A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture" part with The Round House by Louise Erdrich. I enjoyed it quite a bit, albeit sometimes it felt a bit slow for a mistery.

My goals:


Read at least 1 POC author per month: As I mentioned, I read 2 this month.

Read at least 1 book in Spanish per month: I read Lo que escondian sus ojos by Nieves Herrero. It was interesting as I learned some about the Franco era in Spain, but it was oh so slow! The subtitle is The hidden passion of the de Llanzol marquess but the romance part took forever to actually develop and even then things kept going to a glacial pace. I guess it was just not for me.

Read CanLit book per month: The Hello Hemlock book club chose Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson for this month read, and I have to say, I wasn’t sure what to expect with it, but I was pleasantly surprised. More of a fantasy set in a dystopian (?) Toronto it was also full magic.

Read at least 1 book of nonfiction per month: Headstrong by Rachel Swaby. This book was an amazing even if it infuriated me several times; reading about so many women disregarded in science was not easy! I am working on the review and should be coming soon.

Finished series: The only book I read (well listened to) this month was The Heir by Kiera Cass, which makes part of the Selection series. As always it was a bit predictable, but entertaining even if the characters get my eyes rolling on constant bases. It was perfect while taking a bath though. As it turns out, it's not the end of the series but a new spin for a trilogy.

Read more already owned books: Off the 9 books I read this month 6 were my own, the other 3 came from the library.

Read the picks of the month for each book club: The Sword and Laser pick for this month was A Canticle for Lebowitz by Walter M Miller. Since it’s an old SciFi book there’s some parts that felt dated but I liked what he did with the story and how he depicts humanity. However the first part was very slow-paced and at times I considered quitting it. I am happy I didn’t! As I mentioned, the Hello Hemlock book club chose Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson for this month read.

Besides the books I already mentioned I also read Life of Pi by Yann Martel and I have to say I was disappointed. I don’t know if it’s a book that suffers from all the hype it got, but I was left with a “meh” feeling by the end of it. I also read Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger and again, was disappointed. I liked The Time-Traveler’s Wife, but this one had way less whimsy and the end was unsatisfying. I finally got my hands on Ms. Marvel Volume 3. Amazing as always. My last read of the month was Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell and that one was fantastic. It’s her debut novel and I am looking forward reading more from her; it was the perfect read for the Readers Imbibing Peril X challenge.

Well that was it for September. How was your reading?

Monday, August 31, 2015

Challenges and goals update: How did I do in August?

August is almost gone and I can't believe we are officially entering the last quarter of 2015. Where did this year go? I am happy with my 8 reads this month considering that I spent 2 full weeks at the lab, every single day of the week. It was exhausting, but seems like it was worth it. How was my reading this month, you ask? Let's dive in.

Diversifying 2015: Of the 8 books I read this month, 3 had a POC author and those 3 had POC main characters. My POC reading has been stable at about 30% of what I read, so I am happy. The books where: Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins (beautiful story), After Dark by Haruki Murakami (confirming that I do like the author) and finally, Long Live the Music by Andrés Caicedo (a Colombian author that I had been meaning to read for a long time.

Read Harder: For this challenge I tackled the "Read a micro-history" part with The Birth of the Pill by Jonathan Eig. It was well researched piece of nonfiction and you can read my review here.

My goals:

Read at least 1 POC author per month: As I mentioned, I read 3 this month.

Read at least 1 book in Spanish per month: Listened to Long Live the Musical.

Read CanLit book per month: I read the last book in the Maddaddam trilogy by Margaret Atwood, so except a review of the trilogy coming soon. (spoiler alert, it was amazing)

Read at least 1 book of nonfiction per month: The Birth of the Pill by Jonathan Eig

Finished series: Madddaddam by Margaret Atwood

Read more already owned books: Off the 8 books I read this month only 1 was from the library!

Read the picks of the month for each book club: The Sword and Laser pick for this month was Uprooted by Naomi Novik. It's the second book I've read from her and I can tell you I like her style. In this book in particular I really enjoyed the Polish influences. Hello Hemlock didn't have a pick this month.

Besides the books I already mentioned I also listened to Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey, a book I kept hearing being referenced on S&L. It was ok, but it's really not my cup of tea. A LOVED it and he is continuing the series. Oh and I also listened to The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. It reminded me a lot of The Elite but with much better characters IMO. I'm looking forward to the sequel.

Well that was it for August. How was your reading?

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Challenges and goals update: How did I do in July?


As I mentioned on Sunday's post, July was pretty busy for me. That however meant that my stress was high and high stress usually means lots of reading. I realize it might not make much sense to a lot of people, but that's how it goes here. I need something to disconnect and that's either reading or baking and it's been too hot to bake. Granted, I didn't read any more than I have in other months, but considering the amount of "free" time I had, believe me, it was a lot of books ;). So let's take a look of what I read this month.

Diversifying 2015:


Of the 8 books I read 4 had a POC author (Traficantes de Belleza by Zoé Valdez, Maud's Line by Margaret Verble, La Casa de los Espíritus by Isabel Allende and A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki) and all of those had a POC main character.

Read Harder:

For "A book written by someone when they were under the age of 25" I read St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell. And for "A Romance Novel" I read A Rogue by any other Name by Sarah MacLean.

My goals:

Read at least 1 POC author per month: 4 POC this month guys!

Read at least 1 book in Spanish per month: 2 this month, one in print (Traficantes de Belleza and it was beautiful to read) and one in audio (La casa de los Espíritus)

Read CanLit book per month: This month's pick for The Hello Hemlock book club was Through the Woods by Emily Carroll, an amazing and dark graphic novel. Really, give it a try.

Read at least 1 book of nonfiction per month: Because I've already read 12 NF books this year, and hence my average of one NF book per month would be met, I gave myself a "free" month, just to not force myself into anything. I did start one NF book but it just didn't do it for me, so I just DNF.

Finished series: Nothing finished this month

Read more already owned books: Of the 8 books only 3 weren't mine. :/

Read the picks of the month for each book club: For S&L the pick for this month was Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, which I read last December, so I skipped it this month. 

Aside from that I also listened to 2 a.m. in the Cat Pajama's by Marie-Helene Bertino, it was...different.

Well that was it for July. How was your reading?

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Challenges and goals update: How did I do in June?

June was a so/so book for reading. Not because of the book I read, I had quite a varied selection and in general enjoyed them all. However, we are already in July and I haven't finished all the books. Lab was a bit crazy, so I have some reading to catch up. But anyway, let's take a look

Diversifying 2015:


Of the 8 books I read only 2 had a POC author (Tales of Outer Suburbia and De cómo las muchachas García perdieron el acento by Julia Alvarez) and 2 had POC main characters (City of Stairs and by Robert Jackson Bennett and De cómo las muchachas García perdieron el acento) Only one of the books also had a predominant LGBTQ character (City of Stairs)

Read Harder:

For this challenge I read Almost Famous Women by Meghan Mayhew Bergman, which represents "A collection of short stories".

My goals:

Read at least 1 POC author per month: 2 POC authors this month with Tales of Outer Suburbia by and De cómo las muchachas García perdieron el acento.

Read at least 1 book in Spanish per month: Only 1 this month with De cómo las muchachas García perdieron el acento.

Read CanLit book per month: I am still working on the second book of the Maddaddam trilogy by the amazing Margaret Atwood: The Year of the Flood. I am loving the book, just not having enough time t go through it.

Read at least 1 book of nonfiction per month: I read 2 NF books this month: Let's pretend this never Happened by Jenny Lawson and Undeniable by Bill Nye. To date I have already read 12 nonfiction books this year, so I might get a bit more relaxed with that one for now and dive back into NF for NonFiction November :)

Finished series: Not finished, but working on Maddaddam.

Read more already owned books: Of the 8 books only 2 weren't mine. It's still a good average.

Read the picks of the month for each book club: For S&L we read City of Stairs; I really liked it.

I also joined the #EstellaProject3 challenge for the summer, which is why I read Tales of Outer Suburbia, it was a beautiful sequential art specimen. And I finished my Once Upon a Time Challenge with The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan, an amazing use of the Selkie mythology if you ask me.

Well that was it for June. How was your reading?

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Challenges and goals update: How did I do in May?

Well, another month gone. It was a fairly busy one but I don't think it showed as much in this blog. I was in charge of this month's Book Bloggers International event, for Canadian Book Bloggers, and boy that was fun but more time consuming than I expected and hence, as may have noticed I wasn't that active around here. I did however finish 10 books, and I want to catch up with reviews as soon as possible. Now let's see about those challenges

Diversifying 2015:


Of the 10 books I read 5 have POC authors with 4 of those books also haddiverse main characters. Only one of the books had an tertiary LGBTQ character.

Read Harder:

I only ticked off the "Guilty Pleasure" one with Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia, but I've already checked 13 items on this challenge, so I'm not stressed yet.

My goals:


Read at least 1 POC author per month
: As I mentioned I read 5 POC authors this month with Black Milk by Elif Shafak, En el tiempo de las Mariposas by Julia Alvarez, Bone & Bread by Saleema Nawaz , The Emperor of all Maladies by , and Thorn by Intisar Khanani. This last one was an ARC and I shall be reviewing it soon.

Read at least 1 book in Spanish per month: Only 1 this month with En el Tiempo de las Mariposas.

Read one CanLit book per month: Bone & Bread, it was a beautiful book.

Read at least 1 book of nonfiction per month: The Emperor of all Maladies.

Finished series:
I finished The Caster Chronicles with Beautiful Redemption.. I thought I had finished Magic 2.0 too but I think with the end of the third book that they might be some more coming our way.

Read more already owned books: Of the 10 books only 3 weren't mine. Once again I am happy with this part.

Read the picks of the month for each book club: For S&L we read The Sword of Rihannon by Leigh Brackett...it was ok. And for Hello Hemlock we read Bone & Bread.

So there you have it; that was my month in books. How was your?


Friday, May 1, 2015

Challenges and goals update: How did I do in April?



April was a fun month. We had the Read-a-Thon, the weather improved...and A became a PhD. I know, I know it has nothing to do with books, but I am so proud you guys! I read 10 books this month...ok, ok, 9 and ¾ because I am not done with The Tin Drum, but I am ¾ in and should finish it today, so you know.

Diversifying 2015:

Of the 10 books I read on April 3 of them where by a nonwhite author (30% total in the year), and 4 books had POCs as main characters (19% in the year). A Little Life also dealt with sexual diversity (So far, 8% of my reading has dealt with this). 6 of the books were written by women.

Read Harder:


This month I only checked one item of the list, being #2: A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65 with The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro.

My goals:

Read at least 1 POC author per month: 3 books as I mentioned: L'oubli que nous serons by Héctor Abad, Inéd del Alma mía by Isabel Allende and A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Read at least 1 book in Spanish per month: Inés del Alma mía by Isabel Allende

Read CanLit book per month: The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro.

Read at least 1 book of nonfiction per month: 2 books this month: How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran and L'oubli que nous serons by Héctor Abad

Finished series: Acceptance by Jeff Vandermeer was the last installment in the Southern Reach Trilogy. I did a review here.

Read more already owned books: 5 of the books I read this month are mine. I had 3 from the library and 2 e-galleys

Read the picks of the month for each book club: No pick for Hello Hemlock this month, but Wyrd Sisters was the pick for The Sword and Laser book club.

It was a great thing the Read-a-Thon, because by then (25th of April) I was a bit behind on my "planned" reading. This was because A Little Life took a lot more time and mostly energy than I expected, but in a good way. I haven't gotten around to writing that review, but soon enough. Unfortunately, this wasn't the best month in galleys, but hey, you win a little you lose a little, am I right?
You will notice that I am not counting comics here, even though I've been reading a fair amount of them. But since I only started reading comics this year, I want to keep those stats separately.

So there you have it; that was my month in books. How was yours?


Monday, March 30, 2015

Challenges and goals update: How did I do in March?

Hello to all ! Once again here is my update for the month of March. It was a good reading month, I was surprised how much I manage to read this month.

Diversifying 2015:

Of the 10 books I read on March, 2 of them where by a nonwhite author, and both had POCs as main characters.Moving Forward Sideways like a Crab had a LGBTQ main character and (although I haven't finished it yet) The Perks of Being a Wallflower has at least so far, 2 LGBTQ characters as well. This month, 50% of the books I read were from female authors.

Read Harder:

I finally read some poetry for the RH challenge, the review for Wife of the House will be up soon. I also read Popular by Maya Van Wagenen as a "self help"...I realize this is a bit of an stretch, but it does say "Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek" so...

My goals:

Read at least 1 POC author per month: Done with Moving Forward Sideways like a Crab by Shani Mootoo and Mi Abuelo explicaba muy bien a los Pájaros by Ivan Castro Rodelo

Read at least 1 book in Spanish per month: Done with Mi Abuelo explicaba muy bien a los Pájaros by Ivan Castro Rodelo

Read CanLit book per month: Done with Done with Moving Forward Sideways like a Crab by Shani Mootoo

Read at least 1 book of nonfiction per month: Done with Popular by Maya Van Wagenen

Finished series: No series finished this month but I did read the second book in the Southern Trilogy series: Authority

Keeping track of my reading (Country represented, Makomori test, etc): done, but this one I will do a total update at the end of the year.

Read more already owned books: 2 books from the library and 2 Galleys, wich still gave me 6 books that I already owned.

Read the picks of the month for each book club: done!

I feel like, in general I am having a good progression on my reading. I had another DNF this month with The Turnip Princess (galley) but in general I am very happy with what I have read so far.

Reviews wise, I only posted 3 reviews this month in the site with 1 more coming tomorrow. However, thanks to the Bloggiesta Event, my Blog is up to date.

How was your reading this month?

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Challenges and goals update: How did I do in February?

 

Hello to all ! Once again here is my update for the month of February. Let us start:

Diversifying 2015:

Of the 8 books I read on February 2 of them where by a nonwhite author, and both had POCs as main characters. Lock In had several LGQBT characters, so that was good, but the book itself wasn't either about nor by someone identifying as LGQBT. Only 2 of the books I read were written by male authors, which takes me so far to 65% of my reading coming from female authors.

Read Harder:

This month I didn't read ANY of the books I have in line for the RH challenge, so I will have to work on that.

My goals:

Read at least 1 POC author per month: Done with Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me and Las Hijas de Juarez

Read at least 1 book in Spanish per month: Done with Las Hijas de Juarez

Read CanLit book per month: Done with Oryx and Crate

Read at least 1 book of nonfiction per month: Done with Las Hijas de Juarez

Finished series: No series finished this month...I started 2 though, MaddAddam and The Southern Trilogy

Keeping track of my reading (Country represented, Makomori test, etc): done, but this one I will do a total update at the end of the year.

Read more already owned books: Only 1 of the books read this month wasn't a previously owned book!

Read the picks of the month for each book club: done!

I feel like, in general I am having a good progression on my reading. This month I had my first DNF of the year, but at least I know I gave it a fair try.

Reviews wise, I only posted 5 reviews this month in the site; I did send some short reviews for the books I had from either NetGalley or LybraryThing; I think I might stop doing full reviews for ALL the books I read or maybe start doing a series of short reviews for a couple of them, together, particularly those that I don't have a lot to say. 

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Challenges and goals update: How did I do in January?


Hello everybody! As you might know by now, this year I organized my own challenge, I’m participating in Book Riot’s Read Harder and I gave myself a set of goals that I wanted to accomplish. So, every month I will do this update, to see how am I doing. Let us start:


Diversifying 2015:

Of the 8 7 books I read on January, 2 of them where by a nonwhite author, and 3 books had POCs as main characters. Diversity in my reading during this month was more about race, although with Imago I was tempted to count it too as sexually diverse. Anyway, so far I am happy with this part of my reading.

Read Harder:

Theoretically, you have 2 books per month in this list, but this month I manage to cross 5 out of 24. I am a bit behind on my review posting, but I have already read a YA novel (#11), a Sci-Fi novel (#12), an audiobook (#16), a book that was originally published in another language (#19) and finally a book that was published this year (#24). Keep in mind that this challenge is not telling you to only read one book that falls in in each category, so it’s not like I will not listen to any other audiobook this year!.

My goals:

Read at least 1 POC author per month: Done with Imago and Lovetorn

Read at least 1 book in Spanish per month: Done with Solo en Berlín

Read CanLit book per month: Done with As for me and my House

Read at least 1 book of nonfiction per month: half done…last t week was very complicated at the lab, and so I haven’t finished Dead in the city of light yet :S

Finished series: Xenogenesis, and BTW, you should really give that one a try.

Keeping track of my reading (Country represented, Makomori test, etc): done, but this one I will do a total update at the end of the year.

Read more already owned books: 5 of the books I’ve read so far come from my own shelves.

Read the picks of the month for each book club: done!

So there you have it, I feel happy about this so far, I thought my reading was going to slow down, compared to last year, since I’ve been having crazy hours at the lab, but maybe because I need my time down even more than before I am reading almost as much as I was last year. We will see how this continues through the year.

I hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday! Now I am going to keep reading about serial killers ;)

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Why I am grateful for Book Challenges


I have to tell you guys, this has been the year of he bookish challenges for me and I am so happy about it. Thanks all the challenges I've been participated have helped me expand my reading, not only in numbers, but also in authors and genres. 

Diversiverse is one of the new challenges I joined this year. I thought I was doing a good job diversifying my reading, but the sad truth is that I haven't as much as thought. Joining this event gave me an appreciated push to look for even more diverse authors, consciously. This challenge goes a bit in the same subject that Where are you Reading, but the latter is more concentrated on where the book takes place. However, when it is a Fantasy or SciFi book, taking place outside the real Earth, I tag the county of origin of the writer and that expands those reading limits even more.

The Sequel and Prequel Challenge has "forced" me to finally tackle several series that I started and might've left to the side, and this is a good thing because with so much to read, sometimes you loose track of all the series going around.

This year I also joined NetGalley and sooner than I thought I had a lot of Galleys to be read and a very low NG ratio. This is where ARC August and NetGalley Month helped me tons.

And off course, my favorite events/challenges the Dewey Read-A-Thon and the seasonal Once Upon a Time and Readers Imbibing Peril. Thanks to these events I have met en become part of the awesome blogger community which incidently took me to the wonderful Bloggiesta. This is the best event I've seen to Get. Things. Done!

So now is your turn! What are your favorite challenges/events? Any suggestions for 2015?

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Sunday Salon: Getting ready for September


Ok, ok, so September is already here but I was away on vacation so bear with me. This is going to be a very busy month, both in my reading life and my personal life, so I figured I will tell you a bit about it.

First off, we have the Readers Imbibing Peril IX. You can check my sing post here and there you will also find the titles I plan to read. This gives me my first September read: The Haunting of Hill House. My dearest Andi from Estella Society is hosting the readalong. I will also have to at least tackle on of the books from my list. Since the R.I.P Challenge coincided with the Read-a-Thon in October I am not überly nervous about managing my reading for this challenge, but still, I cannot leave the 4 books for October only.

Now, September is also NetGalley Month, an event hosted by Tay at Chicks that Read. For this event I want to read and review the following books: Sudden Light, Mademoiselle both coming out on September 30 and maybe The French Executioner, but this is a maybe, since I have a bit more time for it. Right now my NG ratio is 62.5% and that's with Sudden Light already reviewed. I would love to increase my ratio, but since I am certainly not lacking books to read, I won't be asking anymore books from NG until October probably.

This is also the month for A More Diverse Universe or Diversiverse, an event organized by Aarti from Booklust.
For those who have not heard about #Diversiverse before, it's a very simple challenge. For those of you who have participated in the past, it's even easier this year. The criteria are as follows:

Read and review one book

Written by a person of color

During the last two weeks of September (September 14th - 27th)
I have two candidates for this being: Stories of your life and Others by Ted Chiang, which incidentally is the month's pick for the Sword and Laser book club and Adulthood Rites by Octavia E. Butler, but once again, the second one is a maybe IF I manage to get to it.

That takes us to at least 4 books this month doesn't it? Well, the thing is I've been a bit behind with all my reviews, and this off course affects future reviews. So after trying it 2 times I've decided to start doing some Mini reviews. I believe there is always something to say about a book, but sometimes since I have very little to say (for example with certain sequels) I postpone the review in hopes I will get more to say later...but I don't. I don't think I will go back to write mini reviews for some of the books I've finished but haven't reviewed but you never know.

In the matter of my 2 year long challenges "Where in the world are you Reading" and "Sequel and Prequel Challenge" I think I am doing well. You can see my general progress in their respective tabs.

So that's it for the Blog life. Now for the personal part. This month A and I will celebrate 5 years together. I am so very lucky to have him, he is sweet and supportive and a big geek. It is also the first month that he is officially out of the lab. He still has to finish writing up his thesis and we are waiting for news on a job he interviewed for before we left for a week.

It will also be (hopefully) the month when I finally get my driver's license...well, I have mine from Colombia, but it took me a while to do the process to change it for a Canadian one because...I really don't like driving, guys. But with A no longer going to the lab with me, and the winter coming, we both agreed it will be who might be needing the car more often and so, here I am, getting ready for my driver's exam.

Now I am off to read. Happy September everybody!

Friday, August 22, 2014

Bout of Books: Friday Update

Bout of Books

You guys, today I am in an EXCELLENT mood; after months of work we finally submitted an article and now I am crossing all my fingers hoping it gets accepted. Also, reading has been very good today!

Books started:

  • The Name of the Wind: I am at page 505 of 662. I've been devouring this pages, I am very tired after a big day at the lab so I won't be able to finish it, but soon!
Books finished:
  • The Tumble Inn: I did not love it, but it was a nice read. I will do my best to post my review tomorrow :)
Pages read so far: 722

Reviews posted so far:
Blogs visited today
    Challenges:

    • One True Pairing by Infinite Ink. Just in case I am spoiling it for anyone I will only say that my true pairing comes from Daughter of Smoke and Bone!
    • Create a sentence by Book Reviews by a Christian Gal. I tweeted my sentence, but just in case:
    It was felling night, the first time, standing in a crowded elevator, Eilert Berg was not a happy man.
          The name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfus
          The Fever by Megan Abot
          The Late Starters orchestra by Ari L. Goldman
          The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg 
          If you Liked this: The Girl with the Dragon Tatooby Stieg Larson
          Try this: The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg
         Because they are both set in Sweden, involve very dark, grimy crimes and because actually Camilla Lackberg's noir novellas were out before the Millenium ones and they are pretty cool.
         I chose to recreate The Taker by Alma Katsu


    See you tomorrow!

    Thursday, August 21, 2014

    Bout of Books: Thursday Update

    Bout of Books

    Hello everybody, the cold is almost 100% gone. Things in the lab are looking up so I have even a bit more energy to spend reading:D

    Books started:

    • The Name of the Wind: I am at page 304 of 662. Almost half way in and liking it sooo much
    Books finished:
    • The Tumble Inn: I did not love it, but it was a nice read. I will do my best to post my review tomorrow :)
    Pages read so far: 521 that is counting How we Learn, another Galley that I was already working on before the Read-a-Thon started.

    Reviews posted so far:
    Blogs visited today
      Challenges:

      • One True Pairing by Infinite Ink. Just in case I am spoiling it for anyone I will only say that my true pairing comes from Daughter of Smoke and Bone!
      • Create a sentence by Book Reviews by a Christian Gal. I tweeted my sentence, but just in case:
      It was felling night, the first time, standing in a crowded elevator, Eilert Berg was not a happy man.
            The name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfus
            The Fever by Megan Abot
            The Late Starters orchestra by Ari L. Goldman
            The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg 
            If you Liked this: The Girl with the Dragon Tatooby Stieg Larson
            Try this: The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg
         Because they are both set in Sweden, involve very dark, grimy crimes and because actually Camilla Lackberg's noir novellas were out before the Millenium ones and they are pretty cool.

      See you tomorrow!

      Wednesday, August 20, 2014

      Bout of Books: Wednesday Update

      Bout of Books

      Hello everybody, I am feeling better, thankfully so I managed to read a bit more today!

      Books started:

      • The Name of the Wind: I am at page 120 of 662. I am finally catching up with it!
      •  
      Books finished:
      • The Tumble Inn: I did not love it, but it was a nice read. I will do my best to post my review tomorrow :)
      Pages read so far: 296, I think this is not bad considering the first 2 days I fell asleep, thank to my always trusty cold!

      Blogs visited today
      Challenges:

      Bout of Books Scavenger Hunt by the Book Monsters. You can see my pictures here

      One True Pairing by Infinite Ink. Just in case I am spoiling it for anyone I will only say that my true pairing comes from Daughter of Smoke and Bone!

      Create a sentence by Book Reviews by a Christian Gal. I tweeted my sentence, but just in case:

      It was felling night, the first time, standing in a crowded elevator, Eilert Berg was not a happy man.
      The name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfus
      The Fever by Megan Abot
      The Late Starters orchestra by Ari L. Goldman
      The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg

      See you tomorrow!

      Tuesday, August 19, 2014

      Bout of Books 11: Tuesday Update

      Bout of Books

      Hello everybody, I am feeling better, thankfully so I managed to read a bit more today!

      Books started:



      • The Tumble Inn: I'm 65% in and I think I will be able to finish it by tomorrow. This takes me to ~125 pages read in total
      • The Name of the Wind: So I read 10 pages yesterday and apparently (says the boyfriend) fell asleep. I blame the cold medicine, because it was starting pretty nicely!

      No reviews posted yet.

      Blogs visited today


      Challenges:

      Bout of Books Scavenger Hunt by the Book Monsters. You can see my pictures here

      One True Pairing by Infinite Ink. Just in case I am spoiling it for anyone I will only say that my true pairing comes from Daughter of Smoke and Bone!


      I am off to try to read as much as I can. Wish me luck!
       

      See you tomorrow!

      Monday, August 18, 2014

      Bout of Books 11: Monday Update

      Bout of Books

      Hello everybody, here is a short update on my reading for Bout of Books. Turns out I am sick guys! A nasty cold crawled its way into my system and here I am all sneeze and sleepy. But I will do my best to read and post...until Tylenol cold hits in.

      Books started:



      • The Tumble Inn: I just started it today and I haven't read more than 20 pages so it is too early to have an opinion on it, I will keep you posted.
      • The Name of the Wind: This is this month's pick for my Sword and Laser Book club and I just got it from the library on Friday. Technically I haven't started yet, but I will as soon as I get into bed

      No reviews posted since I just started the books ;)

      Blogs visited today


      Challenges:

      Bout of Books Scavenger Hunt by the Book Monsters

      Here are my pictures:
      A Book that begins with “B”  (for Bout of Books!): Bossypants by Tina Fey
       A book that has been made into a movie/tv show: Game of Thrones
      A series you love: The Taker Trilogy by Alma Katsu

      An anthology of poems or short stories: The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories by Tim Burton
      A book on your TBR shelf: 2 actually! The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfus and The Late Starters Orchestra by Ari L. Goldman

      I am off to try to read as much as I can. Wish me luck!
       

      See you tomorrow!

      Sunday, August 3, 2014

      #ARCAugust Sign Up


      On June 11 of this year, I joined NetGalley. I know, I know, I am late for this, but hey, at the same time this is a fairly young blog (3 years only!). Before I knew it, I had a bunch of books approved but I am a bit behind on my Feedback. You see, it is my fault, trying to tackle to many projects at a time, but they are so fun! So I've decided to join the ARC August to try to organize a bit more this new part of my reading. I also doing Bout of Books 11 this month and off course following the Sword and Laser bookclub, as I do every month. Hopefully with your encouragement I will be able to do this and finally get into rhythm! So let's go! There are 5 books that will be published in September, so my goal is to at least read AND review 3 of them this month, taking into account that some of the reviews might have to be held until the publication date, as it is sometimes asked by publishers. I will update and link to the proper reviews here as I post them. Best luck to everyone participating!

      ARCs Read during August:
      • The Winter People by Rebekah L. Purdy 
      • The Tumble Inn by William Loizeaux 
      • How we Learn by Benedict Carey

      ARCs Reviewed during August:

      Monday, July 21, 2014

      Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer



      First impressions


      When I first started this series I fell in love with the retelling of Cinderella, and every single new installment of the series has been full of beautiful usage of a known story but making it completely new. This was not an exception.

      Final thoughts

      At the end of Scarlet we were introduced very briefly to a new character, Cress a lunar who contacted Cinder in order to help her save Kai. She is also the best option Cinder, Scarlet Wolf and Captain Thorne have to stop Queen Levana from marrying Kai and taking over the Commonwealth.

      But off course is not that easy, they will have to try and rescue her from the satellite while trying to not get caught by both Earthen and Lunar authorities. The rescue will not end up well and the group will be split in different directions while showing us what is happening in several places on Earth and on the Lunar court.

      As the HP series, these books are getting bigger and luckily just as HP is not just empty extra content. I love the story in itself and all the girls, while remaining reminiscent of their inspiration original characters (Cinderella, Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel) are not just ladies in distress waiting for prince charming to come. Sure, this point is arguable in Cress's case, but you have to consider that she has been clustered for ages and even though she might be bit awe stricken she fends pretty well for someone with no prior experience on Earth. I also like Iko, she is a bubble gum type android, but she is adorable and I think she doesn't get enough credit for how awesome she is.

      There were a bit of twists, nothing that had me saying oh wow, but at the same time, they didn't felt boringly predictable either. The hints to the upcoming book left me really wanting to continue reading but I will have to wait for 2015. This is the problem when reading a series that is not completely finished!

      As always Marissa Meyer's rhythm takes you into the story smoothly so you don't realize you've spent hours curled in your papasan until someone asks you if you are not hungry (yes, I was) or tired (nope, not really). In the mean time I will read Glitches, the prequel Novella.